The Buffalo Jr. Bandits had a highly successful weekend competing in the Jr. NLL Tournament in Oakville, Ontario, highlighted by a U15 Jr. NLL Championship win.
This marked the 11th year of the tournament, which includes three age divisions: U13, U15 and U17. Each Jr. Bandits team was coached by Bandits players, and earned top-three finishes.
Here are some highlights from each of the Jr. Bandits teams’ weekends.
U13 Jr. Bandits – 3rd place
Coached by Chase Fraser and Zack Belter
- Earned third-place finish with Morris John’s overtime goal versus the Jr. Roughnecks.
- Redmond Wolk led the team with 16 goals and 20 points, those 16 goals leading all U13 players in the tournament.
- Goalie Weston Stewart recorded 70 saves and an .814 save percentage.
- All-star selections: Redmond Wolk, Weston Stewart, Hunter Rotella, Snyder Pragle, Chris Schurr.
U15 Jr. Bandits – 1st place
Coached by Chris Cloutier and former Bandit Mike McNamara
- Defeated the Jr. Rock 9-5 in championship game.
- Goalie Bentley Cuthbertson was named Championship MVP and went 3-0 in the tournament.
- The only U15 team to go undefeated (6-0) in the tournament.
- Allowed U15 division-low 18 goals.
- Caleb Boyle led the U15 division with 20 goals and 26 points.
- Goalie Jackson Lowe went 3-0 with division-best .946 save percentage and 2.00 goals-against average.
- All-star selections: Jackson Lowe, Braxton Sanchez, Rex Campbell, River Hallett, Alastair Clark.
U17 Jr. Bandits – 2nd place
Coached by Tehoka Nanticoke and Nico Capron
- Lost to Jr. Rock in championship game; second place was the U17 Jr. Bandits’ best finish in tournament history.
- Hiram Watt scored the overtime winner in semifinals versus Jr. Black Bears, a 7-6 win.
- Hihte Printup led the team with 13 goals and 19 points. Those 13 goals ranked second in the U17 division.
- Goalie Rhys Reynolds posted an .811 save percentage, third best in the division.
- All-star selections: Hihte Printup, Ben Mendes, Randon Greene, Kaysen John, Ryan Rizzo, Bryan Lansing.